The Qos PipeDream [Was: RE: Two Tiered Internet]

Thu Dec 15 21:58:10 UTC 2005

Randy-

I don't think your bank analogy is very strong, but never mind that.

I agree with what you're saying in principle, that if a user/customer
buys bit delivery at a fixed rate then we should deliver it. But as ISPs
we don't sell this. As a network operator, I do sell various kinds of
point-to-point connections with fixed/guaranteed rates. But when I sell
"Internet", or L3VPN, etc., I'm selling end-to-end packet-switched
full-mesh connectivity. In this service, not all endpoints are equal and
traffic patterns are not fixed. I.e., the service is flexible. "QoS" is
about giving the customer control over what/how traffic gets
treated/dropped. It's not false advertising.

That said, if QoS controls are used to enforce the provider's
preferences and not the customers' then I might agree with the false
advertising label. If the result is to have anti-competitive effects
then I might have some harsher labels for it, too.

Cheers,
-Benson

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-nanog at merit.edu [mailto:owner-nanog at merit.edu] On Behalf Of
Randy Bush
Sent: Wednesday, 14 December, 2005 22:32
To: Hannigan, Martin
Cc: Fergie; nanog at merit.edu
Subject: RE: The Qos PipeDream [Was: RE: Two Tiered Internet]

> Can we build, pay for, and sustain an Internet that never has
congestion
> or is never "busy".

s/never/when there are not multiple serious cuts/

would we build a bank where only some of the customers can get
their money back?  we're selling delivery of packets at some
bandwidth.  we should deliver it.  otherwise, it's called false
advertising.

randy